A severe snowstorm continues to hammer sections of the United States, creating hazardous travel conditions.
At least 28 people have died in the United States due to a severe winter storm.
Temperatures well below freezing have left around 300,000 homes and businesses without power due to blizzard conditions.
On Saturday, more than 3,000 flights were canceled, and some airports were closed.
More than 200 million people were under some type of weather warning on Friday.
Winds of 90 mph and 20 cm of snow are imminent.
Authorities advised against non-essential driving due to icy road conditions, and hundreds of individuals who ignored the warnings became trapped in their vehicles.
Three persons were killed in car accidents in Kentucky, while another three were killed in car accidents in Oklahoma, two of which were caused by the blowing snow.
The National Weather Service of Montana cautioned that the eastern slope of Glacier National Park and neighboring foothills and plains could receive up to 20.3 centimeters of snow and gusts of up to 90 miles per hour.
Earlier in the storm, the temperature in Montana dropped to -45.6C (-50F), while the remote Montana town of Havre recorded -39C yesterday (38F).
In Maine, more than 107,000 properties are without power, and utility executives have warned that it might be days before power is fully restored. Customers in neighboring states have been encouraged to reduce their energy consumption to prevent rolling blackouts.
Fears grow for the homeless
One company informed its 65 million consumers in thirteen states that electricity facilities were unable to operate due to weather conditions and high demand.
Another power company instructed its clients to lower their thermostats from 15.6C to 16.7C due to a pipeline equipment breakdown that reduced the gas supply from one of its suppliers by 30%.
There are urgent efforts to provide firewood to some Native American tribes who reside in remote places, as well as the opening of emergency shelters for the homeless and those without power at home.
In Portland, Oregon, severe weather shelters distributed tarps and tents to individuals as they closed due to a break in the storm.
More than 1,100 people have sought warmth in the five emergency weather shelters in the city, according to officials.
One of the worst storms ever recorded
In Buffalo, New York, heavy snowfall, subzero temperatures, and power outages prompted people to seek shelter in churches, police stations, and any other building with a heater.
Mark Poloncarz, the executive of Erie County, stated that ambulances need more than three hours to reach a hospital due to snow-covered roads, abandoned vehicles, and downed power lines.
Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, stated that the storm was unprecedented “The Erie County Sheriff’s Office’s Timothy Carney described the storm as “almost a category 3 hurricane with a lot of snow thrown in. It has been that way for the previous twenty-four hours.”
